Founded and owned by labor unions, Amalgamated Bank is supposed to be different from other lenders. It proudly recalls being the first institution to offer unsecured personal loans to “working people and their families” in 1924. Its equity index funds don’t just track the S&P 500, they also engage in “aggressive shareholder activism” on behalf of “sustainable social and environmental practices.” Perhaps most strikingly, Occupy Wall Street has chosen to park its savings at Amalgamated.

Yet as Bloomberg News's Max Abelson reports, Amalgamated Bank bears a striking resemblance to the large behemoths loathed by left-wing activists. This isn't a conspiracy; it's simply a reflection of the realities of the banking industry...